1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a hyposensitization agent. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hyposensitization agent comprising a cedar pollen allergen covalently attached to a saccharide.
2. Abbreviations
Ala: alanine residue
Arg: arginine residue
Asn: asparagine residue
Asp: aspartic acid residue
Gln: glutamine residue
Gly: glycine residue
Ile: isoleucine residue
Lys: lysine residue
Met: methionine residue
Pro: proline residue
Ser: serine residue
Trp: tryptophan residue
Each amino acid residue is in L-configuration.
3. Description of the prior art
Cedar pollinosis is an allergic disease caused by a cedar pollen scattered from blooming cedars.
Recently, the number of cedar pollinosis patients is gradually increasing in Japan with the increment of areas under cedar forestation. Although cedar pollinosis seasonally occurs, it is not insignificant in view of the public health.
In conventional therapy, for example, a steroid hormone or disodium cromolicate is administered. Such therapy is a symptomatic treatment which temporally relieves patient's symptom.
Administration of intact cedar pollen allergen responsible for cedar pollinosis has been attempted to effect hyposensitization in order to completely cure cedar pollinosis. Such hyposensitization has the drawbacks that it has a fear of eliciting anaphylaxis from the cedar pollen allergen used, and that treatment using the cedar pollen allergen should be continued for long time, i.e. about 3 years, because a small amount of the cedar pollen allergen is repeatedly administered to a cedar pollinosis patient in order to avoid such anaphylaxis.
Furthermore, cedar pollen allergen should be carefully handled because it is readily adsorbed on vessels such as glassware and metalware, and, in hyposensitization, this renders the administration of a prescribed amount of cedar pollen allergen very difficult.